Hero (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Cody receives news that concerns Steve as well.


**Notes:** Thanks to Mari and Sammy for your amazing support of this story and EVERY story! Your enthusiastic feedback will never cease to make me bounce with giddy delight.

Readers and REAL McRollers – I feel a little like a broken record, thanking you for your wonderfully generous support and apologizing *again* for being so behind in review responses. Please know I continue to be so grateful to you all!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _Hero (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

Steve stood from the table near Kamekona's shrimp truck and moved to grab his and Cody's empty plates.

"I could . . ." Cody said and started to stand.

"Ah, ah," Steve interrupted and pointed back to the bench. "You bought lunch. I'll get the trash."

Cody sat back, smiling proudly, as Steve walked away from the table.

The phone in his pocket buzzed, and Cody pulled it out, knitting his brow at the unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" he answered. "Yeah, this is Cody." He listened to the caller for a moment and his eyes widened in surprise. "I did?" He paused and listened again. "Whoa. Really? I can't believe . . . I mean, I didn't really think I would . . ." His voice trailed off, and as he continued to listen to the voice on the line, his eyes went to Steve who was walking back toward the table. "Oh . . . um . . . yeah. I . . . I think I could come by today." He paused briefly at something the caller said and swallowed. "Um . . . I don't know if he . . . yeah, okay . . . I'll try. Okay, um . . . thanks . . . that's really . . . wow. Thanks."

He ended the call as Steve sat back down, straddling the bench.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked, nodding toward the phone.

"Yeah. That was . . . um . . ." He swallowed. "Hey . . . do you think we could go to the library today?"

Steve shrugged. "Sure."

"I gotta get my free book for the summer reading program. Actually, we all do."

"Was that the library calling to remind you to come in?"

Cody shifted a little. "Uh . . . yeah."

"Wow," Steve said, raising his eyebrows. "Nice of 'em. Do you want to go today just us or wait till everybody can go?"

"Could we go today?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Steve stood up and moved to step over the bench.

"Wait, Steve," Cody said, staying in his seat and cringing a little. "That's not . . . that's not the reason."

Steve quirked eyebrow.

"I mean, we do have to go get our books," Cody said quickly. "But . . . there's another reason we have to go. That I have to go."

Steve put his other leg back over the bench and sat to face Cody fully, waiting for him to continue.

Cody looked down, running his fingers along the wood of the table. "See . . . there was this . . . essay contest for teens. And I uh . . . I entered it."

"Good for you," Steve said with a nod. "I didn't know you were a writer."

Cody glanced up at him. "I'm not. Not really. I just . . ." He shrugged. "The prize was a laptop. And I thought . . . Mom wouldn't have to buy one if I . . ." His voice trailed off, and he shrugged again. "But I didn't really think I'd win or anything. Not really."

"So . . .?" Steve prompted, a smile growing on his face.

"So . . . I guess I won," Cody said, his lips twisting slightly.

"You guess?"

"I won," he said more definitively. He nodded at his phone. "That was the librarian."

Steve smiled broadly and reached across the table to clasp Cody's arm.

"Congratulations," he said. "That's awesome, Cody." He nodded proudly. "That's really great."

Cody smiled finally, exhaling and looking down a little self-consciously.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked, sitting back. "I'd have read it over for you before you turned it in. Though it sounds like you didn't need it."

Cody's expression dropped, and he shifted a little in his seat.

"Oh . . . um . . . I mean, like I said, I didn't think I'd win . . ." His voice trailed off, and there was a pause when he didn't continue.

"What was the topic?" Steve asked.

Cody took a deep breath, his eyes not quite meeting Steve's.

"Well, the theme for the summer reading thing was . . . like . . . superheroes, you know?"

"Ah." Steve nodded. "So what'd you have to do? Create your own superhero?"

"No," Cody said quietly. "You had to write about a real person."

He took another deep breath and looked right at Steve.

"Your personal hero," he said.

Steve went still as realization dawned on him.

Cody paused and bit his lip.

"I wrote about you."

Steve blinked but didn't immediately respond.

"I mean, I didn't really think I'd win," Cody said again, his gaze dropping while he picked at his nails. "But it was worth trying." He shrugged self-consciously. "I figured, even if the writing wasn't that great . . ." He looked up a little nervously at Steve. "The hero is . . . and maybe that would count for something."

Steve licked his lips but still didn't speak.

Cody swallowed uneasily, his eyes darting between Steve and the table. "You're not . . . mad . . . are you?"

"No," Steve said emphatically, finally speaking. "No, of course I'm not mad."

"I mean, I know I probably should have asked if you minded . . ."

"Cody, I'm not mad," Steve assured him. "I just . . . I wasn't expecting . . . that . . ." He exhaled and ran a hand over his mouth and chin. He placed both hands on the table between them and looked at the teen steadily. "I'm honored, Cody. I really am."

Cody smiled slowly.

"You gotta understand . . ." Steve continued, shaking his head. "I don't really . . . think of myself as a hero."

They both fell silent for a moment.

"I think most real heroes don't," Cody said quietly. "I wrote about that, too."

Steve was quiet but his gaze stayed on Cody who tried to shrug in an off-handed way.

"I know you've got . . . like . . . medals and awards and stuff, so this is just . . ."

"Cody," Steve said firmly, stopping him. He waited until the teen met his eyes. "This is important. This is . . ."

He paused a moment and took a breath.

"I want you to know this really means a lot to me. I'm honored that you think . . ." He exhaled slowly and swallowed thickly. "Thank you."

Cody looked surprised at that.

Steve gave him a small smile. "Can I read it?" he asked.

"They're gonna put it on the library's website so anyone can read it," Cody said with a little shrug.

Steve shook his head and held Cody's eyes.

"I won't read it unless you say it's okay."

Cody bit his lip. "I've got the copy that I wrote in a notebook before I went and typed it out at the library. I could give you that."

"I'd like that," Steve said with a smile.

"I don't have very good handwriting."

"That's okay. I think I'd like reading that more than . . . reading it on a screen, you know?"

"Yeah."

After a moment, Steve nodded at Cody's phone and asked, "So they want you to come in today to get your laptop?"

"Yeah. And they uh . . . well . . . since I wrote about you . . . er, you know, someone here on the island, the librarian was hoping you'd come in with me so they could take a picture of us. I guess to put on the website with the essay." He looked unsure. "What do you think?"

"Do you want to take a picture?" Steve asked.

Cody gave him a half smile. "Yeah, that'd be kinda cool."

"So I guess maybe we should get over there, huh?"

Cody's smile widened. "Yeah."

Steve returned his smile and nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

Steve and Cody walked into the teen section at the library where a woman was helping a teenage girl at one of the public computers. After the girl nodded her thanks, the woman straightened and walked back to the small desk.

Steve motioned for Cody to approach her.

"Um . . . hi," Cody said as he stepped up to the desk.

The woman smiled at him. "Hi. How can I help you today?"

Cody glanced at Steve who nodded again.

"I'm uh . . . my name is Cody Allen. Someone called me about the contest."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and her smile widened. "You're our laptop winner!" She came around the desk and extended her hand. "I was the one who called you. I'm Betsy. I'm the teen librarian."

Cody shook her hand. "Yeah, you've come to my school before . . . to talk about the library and books and stuff."

"And you look familiar. I know I've seen you in here."

"Yeah." He looked at Steve. "Um . . . this is Steve. Commander McGarrett. He's the one I wrote about."

"Oh good," Betsy said, smiling at Steve and offering her hand to shake. "I'm glad you were able to make it, Commander. Cody said on the phone he'd try to get you to come with him."

"We were finishing up lunch when you called." Steve said as he shook her hand. He winked at the teen. "Cody's treat now that he's got a job."

"Good for you," she said with a smile at the teen. She looked around. "Okay, well, let me see . . . I need to get someone to cover the desk so we can do a little presentation of your laptop. You guys don't mind getting your picture taken, do you?"

Cody shook his head, and Steve said, "Nope, that's fine."

"Okay, I'll get someone to come over with a camera . . . maybe we'll do it in the lobby," Betsy continued, almost talking to herself. "The walls in there would make a nice backdrop. And I think a couple of the other judges are in today." She looked back at Cody. "They'll definitely want to meet you. We just loved your essay. It was so honest and heartfelt." She walked back around the desk. "Just hang on a minute while I make a few calls."

"I'm sorry," Cody said as she picked up the phone. "I should have called back and said we were coming now."

"No problem at all," Betsy assured him while dialing. "This is a public library, we're very flexible. We kind of have to be," she added with a laugh. "Kristin?" she said into the phone. "Our laptop winner is here. Can you come to Teen?" She listened for a moment, then smiled. "Excellent. Thanks. I'll call Evelyn." She ended the call and dialed another extension. "Evelyn's got the nice camera," she told Steve and Cody before returning her attention to the phone. "Evelyn? Guess who's here?"

While Betsy was on the phone, another librarian approached Steve and Cody.

"Commander McGarrett, good to see you again," Kristin said.

He turned to greet the children's librarian. "You, too."

"Usually it's Catherine in here. Or at least, in the Children's Department."

"That's true. She's gotten to be a pretty regular visitor."

"She has. Now when are you bringing that adorable niece of yours back to storytime?" Kristin asked.

Steve smiled at the mention of Joan. "Next time she's on the island, definitely."

"And you must be Cody," Kristin said and smiled at the teen. "Congratulations. Your essay was absolutely wonderful."

Cody ducked his head slightly. "Thanks."

"We had a lot of great entries, but yours was just so honest and right from the heart."

"Thank you," Cody said quietly, his head ducking farther, though there was a small smile on his face.

"I've seen you in the library before, but usually you've got a sibling or two in tow," Kristin said with a chuckle, sensing the need to change the subject. "Or three or four."

"Yeah," Cody said, raising his head a bit. "We uh . . . we like coming to the library."

"That Jacob," Kristin said, grinning. "I just love that kid. Your whole family, actually."

Cody gave her a small smile but was saved an answer when Betsy rejoined them.

About five minutes later, they had moved to the library's bright lobby, and a small crowd of library staff had joined them to wait for the presentation.

Cody was standing with two librarians, awkwardly accepting their congratulations and praise.

Steve stood a few feet away, watching with his arms crossed and a proud smile on his face.

"Did you know he was writing about you?" Betsy asked from beside him.

"No," Steve said, glancing at her. "No, I didn't." His eyes drifted back to Cody. "But I'm honored he did."

"Have you read the essay yet?"

"Not yet."

"Well, let me just say thank you. For everything you've done for this island and for this country."

Steve nodded once and gave her a small smile.

Betsy looked back at Cody who was now talking to Kristin.

"And for everything you've done for Cody," she said. "Based on what I read in his essay . . . you've changed his life."

"He's changed mine," Steve said quietly, his gaze on Cody. "To be seen as a . . . a hero to a kid that special . . ." He shook his head slowly. "That's really something."

Betsy smiled at him. "I bet. My kids are grown now, but I know how important the teen years are, and how vital good role models can be. That's one reason I wanted to do this essay contest."

Steve nodded slowly, his eyes still on Cody who looked over at him and smiled more comfortably.

Two women approached the group, one with a camera and the other with a box.

"Looks like it's time to get this show on the road," Betsy said, smiling broadly.

Cody and Steve were introduced to the branch manager who presented Cody with his brand new laptop donated by the local Friends of the Library.

"Okay, Cody, why don't you stand with Commander McGarrett over here, and we'll get a nice picture of you both with your new computer," Betsy said. "We'll give you a form for your mom to sign so we can put the picture on the website with your essay."

"Okay," Cody said and moved to the spot she indicated.

Steve stood next to him and put his arm around Cody's shoulder. He smiled at the teen and gave him a quick nod.

"Congratulations, Cody."

As he looked forward at the camera, Cody shifted closer to Steve and smiled.

"Thanks, Steve," he said quietly.

Steve tightened his arm and pulled Cody closer as the camera's shutter began to click.

* * *

At home later, Steve sat alone in a chair at the edge of the beach holding two pieces of notebook paper, creased with multiple folds and smudged with graphite. He had read Cody's essay start to finish, and now his eyes lingered on the final lines.

" _The things he's done in the Navy and as the head of Five-0 would make him a hero in a lot of people's eyes. But he's also been there for me and my family. He's shown me what it's like to be a good man, even when your life isn't perfect._

 _He's the kind of man I want to be._

 _That's what makes him my hero."_

He still may not think of himself as a hero, but Steve knew he'd keep those two pieces of paper, creased and smudged and incredibly meaningful, for the rest of his life.

* * *

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